Kyoko placed Mukuro's rifle on the ground as Makoto ran out of the cabin door. The Ultimate Soldier had been so emotional that she hadn't cared - or perhaps even noticed - when Kyoko had snatched the rifle off her. 'So, she's even more unstable than I thought. She's dangerous... and we still have no choice but to rely on her.' The detective grimaced internally. Needing the help of one of the people who had stolen her grandfather and years of her life before trying to get her classmates to murder her had been bad enough already.
'K-Kyoko?' She turned around to see Chihiro staring up at her. The smaller girl was terrified, her eyes wide and filled with tears. 'It's alright', Kyoko said in as soft a voice as she could manage. 'It's over now.' 'But...' The programmer managed to stand on her trembling legs and step towards the detective. '... are y-you okay?' 'I'm fine', Kyoko replied, recalling the past few days and some of the memories that had returned after she'd been told her talent. 'That wasn't the first time I've had a gun pointed at me. But... thank you for asking.' 'It's okay', Chihiro sniffled, still scared. 'Ah', Kyoko realised. 'I should...' 'Are you okay?' 'I... I think so. I'm just... just sc-scared.' The programmer sat back down. 'What... what do you think is going to h-happen to us?' 'I don't know', Kyoko stated. 'But if Makoto can calm down Mukuro enough for her to to be able to protect us again, then I think we have a chance of getting out of here.' 'What... what do you think of her?' Chihiro's voice was quieter than before, as if she was worried that Mukuro could hear her. 'I think she's genuine about changing sides', the detective replied. 'But she's unstable, and helping us now doesn't change what she did to us before.' The shorter girl nodded slightly. 'Yeah... b-but she wants to change... and w-we should help her... sh-shouldn't we?' Kyoko thought for a moment. 'We should', she said. 'If it makes her more reliable. We'll need her help to get our families back.' 'Y-yeah', Chihiro replied. 'I was...' She stopped for a moment, then simply said 'I miss my Dad.'
Kyoko winced internally. Those four words immediately bought back all the thoughts that had been mercifully absent from her mind for the past few minutes. 'Father... dammit, I shouldn't care, but... I need to know where you are. I need to know what happened to you... what happened between us. Wanting to properly remove you from my life is the only reason I'm in this damn mess to begin with. I wish I didn't need to know, but I do.' She almost wished that Mukuro hadn't reminded her of her talent. When she'd remembered what she was, all the vague, uncomfortable feelings she'd had about her life before Hope's Peak had quickly turned into painful memories, but she still couldn't recall the end of them. Her father had been a dedicated principal - far more dedicated to the school than to his family - so something must have happened to him before the killing game had started. 'Mukuro almost certainly knows what happened, but I can't interrogate her, not while we're reliant on her. But as soon as it's safe to do so, I'll make her tell me.'
Perhaps Kyoko could have figured it out if she still had at least some of her memories of Hope's Peak, but they were maddeningly out of reach. Now that she knew they were missing, it was if she could feel the empty gaps within her mind. The last thing she could remember was the crime scene at Giboura Junior High that she'd visited before arriving at Hope's Peak.'I don't have time to be worrying about any of this, dammit! Focus!'
She forced her attention back to Chihiro, thankful that she found it easy to hide her emotions. 'Get back to sleep', she said calmly but authoritatively. 'We're not going to get out of this if we're fatigued.' 'Do... do you think we can get out of this?' Despair was written on the programmer's face, but there was still a glimmer of hope in her eyes. 'I think we do, as long Mukuro is with us and stable enough to help us', Kyoko replied, glancing back at the open doorway. 'And I think that depends on Makoto right now.' Chihiro nodded silently, her eyes downcast. 'Yeah... but if anyone can get through to her, it's him... right?' 'Yes. Now, get some sleep.' The programmer timidly nodded again. 'Yeah, s-sorry... goodnight.'
As Chihiro lay down next to the heater, Kyoko stared outside and lost herself in thought once again. 'Even though he rejected her, I think he'll be able to calm her down. It's obvious that she's still fixated on him. She'll probably do anything to make him love her back.' It was true that Mukuro was unstable, but it seemed unlikely that she'd hurt Makoto. Although Kyoko had investigated a few cases of spurned admirers killing their crushes, it was clear that Mukuro's obsession was far less dangerous. 'Well, far less dangerous for him. I should be careful to not give her any reasons to think I'm interested in him. That should be simple enough, considering that I'm not.' Even though he struck her as kind, conventionally good-looking, capable, brave, and reasonably intelligent, she simply didn't feel that way about him. She could understand why Mukuro did, though. 'He was willing to die to save her life. He put more importance on her life than his own. When someone does that for you... it creates a bond. And, in her case, the other important bond in her life was broken at the same ti-'
Kyoko's thoughts were suddenly derailed by movement outside. She could see two figures, indistinguishable in the gloom, walking towards the cabin. She glanced over to the rifle, still on the floor. 'If I'm going to get it, I need to get it n- ah. Good.' The figures were close enough for her to recognise them as Makoto and Mukuro. Chihiro got to her feet as they stepped through the doorway. Kyoko could see that the soldier's cheeks were wet, but it appeared that crying had helped her to calm down. In fact, her body language was far more timid now, almost as timid as Chihiro's. 'If I didn't know better, I wouldn't believe that she was using a knife to slaughter armed soldiers earlier tonight.'
Her recollection of the carnage suddenly connected itself to another recently recalled memory, and she felt something almost clicking into place, but it didn't quite fit. Not yet. 'The motive and ability are there, but was she -'
But before she could start digesting her thoughts, Mukuro began to speak to her. 'I, uh... I'm sorry I pointed the rifle at you.' The soldier's eyes were glued to the floor as she spoke, while Makoto stared at her with mild surprise and a small smile. The apology clearly wasn't his idea. 'Apology accepted', Kyoko replied, slightly relieved that the Ultimate Soldier's mental state seemed to be stabilising. 'Don't do it again.' Mukuro nodded sheepishly, then awkwardly walked past her towards Chihiro. 'I'm sorry', the taller girl mumbled, only for the programmer to reply with a small, compassionate smile. 'It's a-alright, Mukuro... I understand.'
Kyoko turned to Makoto. 'I'm going outside to take watch. The rest of you should get some sleep.' 'Huh? But you've already been on watch, Kyoko', he replied, shaking his head. 'You should get some sleep.' 'It's fine', she said with just enough force to shut down any further protests. 'You need rest more than me, anyway. You've been through a lot tonight.' Makoto sighed. 'Alright... thanks, Kyoko', he said with a small, tired smile. 'But wake me up before you go to sleep so I can take watch.' 'I will', she nodded.
With that, she walked past him and out into the cold, dark night, with only her thoughts for company. 'If she was in the area at the time...'